Replacement effects · Original rules scenario

Doubling Season and Hardened Scales: five counters or six?

Published and reviewed 2026-10-15 by MtG-RC Editorial

The scenario

You control Doubling Season, Hardened Scales, and a creature. Dragonscale Boon resolves targeting that creature and would put two +1/+1 counters on it. You control all the relevant permanents and no other effects apply. How many counters are added?

Short answer

You choose an order that adds either five or six counters. Applying Doubling Season first changes two to four, then Hardened Scales adds one: five. Applying Hardened Scales first changes two to three, then Doubling Season doubles three: six.

Step by step

Both replacement effects want to modify the same counter-placement event. The affected creature's controller chooses which applicable effect to apply first, subject to the replacement-effect ordering rules.
If you choose Hardened Scales first, the modified event is placing three counters. Doubling Season can still apply, changing it to six.
If you choose Doubling Season first, the modified event is placing four counters. Hardened Scales changes it to five. Each replacement effect gets only one opportunity to modify this event; they do not loop forever.

What changes the answer?

Who chooses?

The affected object's controller chooses in this case. It is not automatically the controller of the spell or the player who controls the replacement effect.

Not all replacement choices are interchangeable

Some kinds of replacement effects have special precedence under rule 616.1. This example concerns two ordinary counter-modifying effects, not a universal permission to order every replacement effect freely.

Rules and verification

Checked against the Comprehensive Rules effective 2026-09-25. Read the dated official source. Rule-browser links may use an older site snapshot; the dated official document is this scenario's verification source.

CR 616.1: The affected object's controller chooses an applicable replacement, subject to the listed ordering rules.
CR 614.5: A replacement effect does not apply to the same event repeatedly.

Card sources

Oracle text snapshot checked 2026-10-15. These quotations are card reference material, not original MtG-RC explanations.

Doubling Season

If an effect would create one or more tokens under your control, it creates twice that many of those tokens instead.
If an effect would put one or more counters on a permanent you control, it puts twice that many of those counters on that permanent instead.

Verify on Scryfall

Hardened Scales

If one or more +1/+1 counters would be put on a creature you control, that many plus one +1/+1 counters are put on it instead.

Verify on Scryfall

Dragonscale Boon

Put two +1/+1 counters on target creature and untap it.

Verify on Scryfall

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